The NY Times takes a look at Karl Rove's state of mind these days. Despite the complete disaster that the Bush White House has become, Karl's not worried. A lot of other people are worried, but not Karl:
By most accounts inside and outside the administration, Mr. Rove is relentlessly cheerful, presenting himself as an optimistic face in a gloomy White House. One person who met Mr. Rove said he attributed Mr. Bush's problems more to external events, in particular Hurricane Katrina and Iraq, than to anything the White House did wrong.That explains a lot....Iraq wasn't an "external event" until the Bush made it one. Since Karl is calling the shots, it explains why the White House treats Iraq like a p.r. event, not a war that needs a policy solution.
But Karl is feeling really cocky these days despite all the bad news. He apparently thinks he can prevent Bush from bringing on a new high level staffer. Great. Keep the current team intact, they're doing so well now.
